Monday, September 24, 2001
4:05a
THC's are as much a couriousity as ever.
On the 60 Miniutes show last evening, Andy Rooney did his talk about the recent events. He mentioned the president's speech to congress and made reference to it not being Sir Churchill quality. Over the weekend I had started my own comparison like that and even started composing what I imagined Sir Churchill would have addressed to the rest of the world. But I learned I'm no match to that high water mark in World Class Statesmanship either. Or his endless repoitre of choice words and phrases.
And then there was some brief reference to some part of all them billions allocated to combat terrorism being used as a reward fund.
There's an occassion reference in whatever news I happen upon about something I've thought about too. But I guess those are just the minor THCs since others have probably thought the same.
.... Oh well, time's up gotta go.
Tuesday, September 25, 2001
4:05a
Jerry's eyes open wide at the words from the email on the screen. His mouth drops agape, slowly moves up and down, mumbling incoherant sounds, "whoa, wow, ahhhh, oooo, ...." "Who is this Lady?"
Wednesday, September 26, 2001
4:25a
Yesterday afternoon as we were leaving work, the wife of one of the engineer I work with said the bank down by the creek had been robbed. I drove by that way to see and the police were there and the building had that yellow tape around the front.
Last evening I was outside smoking a cig. Off to the East about a mile was a heliocopter hanging around. I guessed it was the sheriff's and they were looking for who did. I walked around back to look in the greenhouse and check the lock on the metal building. There was no signs anyone had been there. And then later Mom's neighbor called to asked if she had heard about the robbery. She also had heard the man's mother lived out the ridge a ways.
So last night I locked up the truck and car, the screen doors on the porch as well as the kitchen door.
I think the last time a bank in Pickens was heldup was back during the 1930s.
Thursday, September 26, 2001
4:55a
There's something different, again, about my mental state. For four or five days now I've not been tensed and stressed like before. It's mostly not walking and sitting around with that tauntness in the upper chest, neck and arms. Not the heartattack kind, just the kind people get when something stressful or excitfull has happened in their lives. I've been trying to remember when they started, I think it was back in 1996 when the hernia thing happened. That would be 5 year and a few months ago.
And then there was another one of the mind storm, well not that but a mind event that happened Friday or Saturday night. I was sleeping and may have been dreaming too. Then there was that thump and jolt that happened in my head. It was like the lighting bolts that happened a while back, years maybe, except I guess this was the thunder clap that happened this time.
Anyway, my mindset feels like it's more like it use to be a long time ago. Someone once commented that he got the impression nothing ever bothered me, when every one else was all excited about something, I acted my normal chilled out self.
Anyway again. I don't quite know what to make of it all. But then that's what I wrote in the last enrty too.
But then again, again ... I was once walking along the trail out of the Chattoogo river place at Bull Sluice, feeling kind-of down, worn away with worry and burdened and the like. "God, please walk with me for a while," I thought in my head. It was really quite remarkable how soon the Peace within arrived.
The local police and sheriff caught the bank robber sometime yesterday.
Sunday, September 30, 2001
12:30p
Thursday after work I was going by the intersection at the bottom of Jewel street below the high school on the way home. I turned the corner to close and scraped the tire against the curb. I went on home and then back to Mom's house without any trouble. Friday morning, it was still dark when I got up and was outside, I saw the truck sitting crooked. I thought maybe I broke the suspension or something. But after it got time to go to work it was light out and I saw the tire was flat. It has a gash in the sidewall. So I spent yesterday morning getting it fixed.
My right wrist has been hurting again. It's from that pizza cutting job, some kind of tendonnidis. I had to do some torque testing at work one day this week and that's what brought it back. Changing the tire yesterday didn't help it any either. It even hurts during the night when I'm rolling over to a different position. But anyway, it's my future old age arthritis.
Wednesday, October 3, 2001
3:50a
I should be writing, typing, something; at least more than what I've got started so far. The last couple or three nights I've woke up early, 3 to 4 o'clock times. The tenseness in the chest muscles have started to come back but not quite as much as before. I'm sure it's mostly just the getting behind on sleep. Of course, my mind gets turned on as soon as I wake up too.
I will use my one (1) week of vacation next week. At least I won't have to go to that place for a few days. But I have planned on going anywhere else either. I'll just hang around here like I've always done for the last 7 years. Maybe spend a night or two at my house, cheap rent there. It's been 10 months since I've slept over there.
Over the weekend I had started thinking about something I probably should be doing. On Monday I spent a few minutes making a to do list. It's for emergency evacuation in case the terrorist attacks reach this area. With the big city, major targets under more security and guard, they'll probably start looking at some small town to attack next.
Sunday, October 7, 2001
4:45a
Thursday there was email from a Clemson graduate student. He's doing his thesis on Lewis R. Redmond, otherwise known as the Major. He's a great-great-grandson of Redmond and doing his thesis on the Major. He had found some issues of the Pendleton District newsletter, a geneaology group's paper, which has parts of what I collected about the events of those times. I told him there's a complete copy of the manuscript at the library in Easley. He's the second descendant of Redmond to have happened upon my work. The other one was a Moore lady over in Greenville, a grand-daughter I think.
Sunday, October 7, 2001
5:20a
Twenty year ago today, brother Joel died.
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
4:45a
I think Monday night Tuesday morning has become my normal lack of sleep night. I've been awake since 2:30. I'm taking my one (1) week vacation now, so I suppose it was to be expected that I wouldn't rest any better at night. I probably dosed and rested too much yesterday trying to make up for the previous week's lack of sleep.
Wednesday, October 10, 2001
4:25a
It was 2:30 this morning and then 2 hours of just laying there on the floor. I might as well give up on sleeping a whole 7 or 8 hours. I've thought that before too but then I give up on giving up before too.
Sunday, October 14, 2001
9:45a
On Wednesday and Thursday I drove around Pickens county, it was my vacation trip which was only more of the same roads traveled. I took Daniel's GPS device and took readings at some of the places I stopped. Other than that, it was just going places I've already been to many or a few times before.
Friday and Saturday I did the normal things, except cutting grass.
I woke up at 2:30 this morning so it's going to be another really long day, nineteen hours of my mind being turned on. There's never going to be a seven hour sleep again.
I've thought about starting a
Monday, October 15, 2001
5:20a
Terroris2001 webpage with the writings about the recent events. But like the last journal entry, it got put aside again.
Oh well, gotta go.
Tuesday, October 16, 2001
5:05a
Would Mahatma Gandhi's "satyagraha" principle have been a better move to counter terrorism?
Wednesday, October 17, 2001
4:55a
It's been mostly normal mornings here. I'm back to waking up early, doing the same things in the same order at the same times. That would be waking at 3:30 after 6 hours sleep, going to the bathroom, lay back down for an hour, get back up and dress, fold up the blankets, sheets, sleeping mat, walk from the front bedroom through the living room in the dark, get the coffee and cereal out of the box behind the chair in the living room, make coffee, start the computer, get coffee and sit out on the porch to smoke a cig, go to the bathroom in the laundry room, check the news websites, look at the stats on the webpages, go sit out on the porch again, make a journal entry, ....
Time's up, it's the regular breakfast cereal time of the morning routine.
Sunday, October 21, 2001
4:45a
It's 1:00 ante meridean, wake up. Time to start thinking again and eventually go crazy.
Another man from work, he has a tractor and mower, met me over at my house Friday afternoon. He looked over the saplings next to the road that I've been wanting to get cut down. So we did that and he said he would come over yesterday morning. I finished my clothes washing routine and got them hung out on the back porch. Then changed into my outdoow work clothes and got my bow saw, pruning shears and sling blade. Spent about an hour and a half cutting back some small trees that had fallen. Cleared out the tall grass around some stumps and rocks so he could see were they were. It's really hard on even a big mower when the blade hits them. I had thought he would have gotten there before I had finished but he didn't. I cleaned up and went back over to Mom's house. Later, when I took the trash to the recycle place rode back by my house. He had been there and got that area beside the road mowed. There's still saplings on the bank and I'll have to do those by hand. I think I'll wait till it gets colder though. When I was doing the sling blading and all, some creature went scurrying under the brush. Don't know if it was a rabbit, big rat or snake.
Last evening, Leander had came up to visit Mom yesterday afternoon, she noted that there was no visible plane wreckage at the PA crash site. I really hadn't thought about that. Total disinagration? It does sound strange.
Monday, October 22, 2001
5:30a
I was suppose to do some work on the "Dear Local Terrorist" series. But I didn't. I was suppose to do some work on the activity at this website. But I didn't. I was suppose to do lots of things. But I didn't do them either.
The GoldRule page is still active. The wrptext and wrptable pages have dropped off back to normal. The journal pages are dropping off too. They were mostly active during June thru September. The colevent page is linked to someone else's collection of columbine related webpages. The resume page had August and September as the peak, it's back to being ignored now.
The terroris page only had the August 25 peak. I suppose the rumors of an approaching event caused that.
I guess the traffic is falling off and will be back to normal now.
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
4:50a
Well I've sat here for 5 minutes. I guess there's nothing new to write about. God be with you and keep you safe.
Friday, October 26, 2001
5:30a
I waste more morning time reading posts at the discussion boards than any other place. It's pointless to try and look for signs of change and insight there.
It's also pointless and fruitless to expect a rational decision from an irrational mind. First correct their irrational thinking and then expect a rational decision.
Monday, October 29, 2001
5:50a
[The whole entry moved to here.]
Tuesday, October 30, 2001
6:30a
Another morning wasted away reading the same comment and discussion boards. Another morning wasted away reading, pondering thoughts, instead of pondering and writing. I'll never learn.
Friday, November 2, 2001
6:35a
This part of the Journal was getting way too cluttered with Terrorism. So I moved those types of entries to here.
Sunday, November 4, 2001
6:20a
Yesterday I got the toilet seat in the blue bathroom replaced. It was a lot easier than when I replaced the one in the laundryroom last Sunday. That one had corroded bolts and nuts. I used some of that spray on liquid wrench and had to let them soak in it for a few hours. It was just like trying to fix metal plumbing that hadn't been worked on since it was first installed 44 years ago. I took the old seats over to my house and put them in the room with the rest of the stuff I've replaced from Mom's house. It's kind-a dumb I guess, just can't seem to let go of anything related to the past.
Last Sunday or Monday I put the new license plate sticker on Mom's car. That was when I put the registeration in the glove compartment too. Then about Wednesday or Thursday I was out after it had gotten dark, about 7 or 8, and noticed a light on in the car. I had forgotten to close the compartment door. Oh gee, the battery. I came into the kitchen and got the car keys and went back out to crank it. It almost didn't start but that last turn of the starter motor got it going. I let it run some that night. I need to drive it around some today and get the battery charged back up.
I suppose that's about all that's been different from the normal stuff that goes on around here.
Tuesday, November 6, 2001
5:40a
Another 3:00 wake up. More wasting time reading about terrorism news, but not as much time this morning. It's that mind focus thing, latching onto something and just not being able to let it go.
I think I dreamt about a high school friend last night, Ralph. I don't know why, haven't thought about him in a couple or three years. And there was some sense of having to walk miles to get from one place to another. But that's all I remember about the dream.
I'm bogged down at work too. It's a router part that should be better analyzed but it just won't mesh for FEA. That's furstrating. And I end up wasting time reading the posts about terrorism instead.
Haven't heard from the Lady recently, but I guess that's fair, it was a week or so before I responsed to her last email.
Over the weekend I got to thinking about this and don't know if it means much. It was 619 days between the New Millenium celebrations around the world and then the epicenter of human tragedy happened. Virtually the whole of humanity being happy, singing and dancing for 24 hours. Then it all came tumbling down with the buildings. Such a mood swing for the whole world.
Well I need to try and get some words out of my head and do a bit of other writing.
Friday, November 9, 2001
5:30a
Frances is planning a trip to here for Mom's birthday on Monday. Daniel and Robert must be going about their normal daily routines. Little if anything changes in the routine here. The Lady wrote and I got that email this morning, that was nice.
I'm not going to try to write anymore about the events in the world. It's hopeless to try and re-organize this website, it's become just scattered thoughts like scrapnel from a cluster bomb.
So that's it for this morning.
Sunday, November 11, 2001
5:35a
Friday about noon time Jason came over to Mom's house. It had been mentioned before about him doing some work around the house since he's been without a job for a while. So he worked on the pink bathroom door that afternoon. He was still working on it when I got here after work, and that's how the evening was spent as well.
I got here a little after five because we were going to buy hamburgers for supper. I saw Jason was still here. And after a few minutes, I was headed back over to my house to get some tools and things, then go up town to get food. Jason went back to Jackie's to get more tools and it was about 6:00 or so before he got back.
Anyway the evening was spent working on the door out in the carport. It was mostly getting the knob and latch holes made and the hinge cuts made. Then he stained it. We started hanging it back in the bathroom and it was all over with about 10:00.
I spent yesterday taking the air conditioner out of the window in the front bedroom. It's on the floor in the closet in that room. Swapped out the screen and storm windows too, three of them anyway. I still have to do the middle bedroom and one more in Mom's bedroom.
While doing the windows I did some hedge trimming on that side of the house. And then picked up some more pecans and raked some of the leaves.
Frances got here late afternoon. We bought pizza again and got two large ones this time. We ate only one or half of each. So now there'll be old pizza to eat on Monday and Tuesday. Frances is to make Mom's birthday dinner today and then she has to leave to go back North Carolina.
So that's it for now, again.
Tuesday, November 13, 2001
6:00a
My niece who was here this weekend said they've already picked up the new tag for themselves, the Nine-One-One or Nine Eleven Generation. I'm not sure what that implies, serious changes during their days or just accepting a new kind of world. Maybe they'll be the 911 EMS generation and arrive in their ambulences to rescue the world out of the mess some of our generation created.
Yesterday was Mom's birthday, 80 years. Her sister Leander had planned to come up for the afternoon with some of her family. So I took part of the day off and was here too. Mike and Madiline's family have been here from Spain, they're missionary types, and their children play instruments. So that's what they did after we had cake. They played the guitar and flutes and sang, a couple of songs in Spanish too. It was all nice to have music in the living room. It made me think of how they should have been much more of those kinds of things in the past.
Nathan is tweleve and is learning the classical guitar. He's learned and practiced more in the two years he's been studing than I have in my off and on again trying for 20 years. Laura and Amy played the flutes and they're good too. Jon the oldest is at Bob Jones and is the panioist.
Wednesday, November 14, 2001
5:40a
Yesterday at work I didn't do much of just that, work. I spent too much time following the news websites and those message boards. I really need to just put it all out of mind.
I think it was about the seventeenth of November last year that I started staying here at Mom's house. So this weekend will be a year since I slept at my house. Sometimes I wonder if it's done any good. There's really hasn't been a whole lot of need to be here. It was mostly the sense of feeling bad about leaving every evening to go back home and leave Mom here alone. But it's like uncle DM said, it brings him peace of mind to know I'm staying here. So that's about the only benefit, peace of mind for others.
I got a resume from a recent college graduate in India yesterday. Don't really understand how he came to send me one. He found mine and thought the company I work for might be interested another employee with similar skills and talents. I suppose I should return some acknowledgement.
Enough for this morning. Bye.
Monday, November 19, 2001
6:05a
Sunday I drove down to Easley, it was a search for pink windows curtains for the pink bathroom. Went to Walmart and walked around, all they had were either for full size draps or short windows. Then I drove over to Lowes and did the same and found the same. Stopped at the Family Dollar store and found something that might work. But it won't, it's a single piece for a full size window. Oh well, another attempt to do something and another failure.
Saturday I raked the leaves under the pecan tree and across the road along the edge of the neighbor's yard. I re-stained the bathroom door that Jason worked on the Friday before. Cleaned up the hinges and pins so they would slip back in easily. Leander came up to watch the USC and Clemson game on channel 40, I had to move the antenna a little for that and it hadn't been moved in decades.
Later that evening, Mom was walking through the den, she tripped and fell right in front of the tv and and me. It was all over in a second or two. She just sat there for a few minutes then crawled over to the sofa and chair to get up. I was trying to help but she's still determined to do everything herself. She thought she was only brusied some and nothing was broken. She didn't mention anything being wrong yesterday either, so I guess that episode is over.
Later I got up to go to the front bedroom to get things ready for cleaning up and going to bed. I felt my heart go out of rythem and that hadn't happened since April. I guess it was a delayed affect of the excitement and stress of Mom falling. I went on about the usual routine and went to bed later, I think it stayed that way all night because it didn't feel normal again till after I had been up for a while Sunday morning.
Thursday and Friday at work it was mostly do nothing days. I really need to get out of this following the discussion boards about the terrorism and fighting in Afghanistan.
Sunday morning I spent about an hour outside watching the Leoid meteors. It really was the best in decades, really the only year it's been clear to see anything. I got the mat and pillow off the porch and laid them on the driveway in front of the carport. I heard the Victory neighbors out too on the hill across the way. The meteors were bright and I could see that afterglow on most of them. Most were seen out of the corner of the eye so to speak, but a few I was looking in the right direction at the right time to see them in plain view.
So that's it for now.
Tuesday, November 20, 2001
6:15a
Yesterday a lady from the church brought Mom her Thanksgiving dinner. That's what we had for supper last evening.
At work I spent most of the day doing vibration measurements on a table saw part. We're suppose to determine its critical frequencies and modes. That shouldn't be interpretted as me knowing what I'm doing, cause I've never understand any of that stuff.
I sent in a request for some technical support on one of the programs we use. I got the response back later that afternoon, this was Friday by the way. It was as expected, they don't know anymore about the software than I do, basically meaning we both can read the manuals.
Time to get on with another day. Bye.
Wednesday, November 21, 2001
6:15a
It's the last work day this week. Thanksgiving holidays and it mostly feels like last years', just another traditional holiday.
Yesterday I did some more modal work and got a set of rough measurements on the part. Then I used a program I put together last year about this time to do the plotting of the mode shapes. It could already plot a set of points in 3D, all I had to do was use the shape amplitudes as the "Z" values. It still needs a bit of work and then it will bascially do the same thing as one of those expensive modal programs.
Bye again.
Post Scriptum: Everyone hope and pray nothing else really bad happens during the rest of the year ... or during the coming years for that matter. Catastrophic Civilization Collaspe can still happen.
Thursday, November 22, 2001
6:00a
Yesterday the bosses let the workers go home at one o'clock, I left at the usual 12:30 and didn't go back. After eating lunch and walking around outside for a short while, I went into the front bedroom, laid out the sleeping pads and rested till almost three o'clock. Then I walked around somemore and then went over to my house. I got the mail out of the box, it was full of newspaper type advertisments. The auto insurance premium was there too, so I sat in the truck and wrote the check for that and then went on up to the post office to mail it. The rest of the evening was much like all the others.
I dreamt more last night and still half way have a sense of what they were about. That's really rare. It was something about roaming, being pursued, through some old ruins and buildings. There was one segment about Mom's oxygen tube laying on the floor in the Den and she was in the bedroom without it. That was panic time. I had known for a while that I have to spend about 10 hours to get a normal nights rest. But even then it was still being half aware of being half awake most of the night.
Today will be a critical day, the next few days as well. It's an American holiday so that makes it a target day for the local terrorists. The rest of the year will be much the same too, Jewish and Christain religious days. The ABC news had a piece Tuesday evening, it was about the attempt on the Pope's visit to Indonesia or Malyasia in 1995. That was a reminder of it's not just attacks on the States but on things Christian too. There's some recollection about how I thought then how such was an indication of how those terrorists think. Attacking the West's religions, things of peace and brotherly love.
I don't know what I'll do today. It'll be like all the past holidays, just hang around Mom's house, my house and not do much of anything. There'll be no sense of accomplishment or getting out anywhere. Just another lonely holiday.
Friday, November 23, 2001
6:15a
Mom fixed a pork roast that had been in the freeze a couple of weeks. So that was our Thanksgiving dinner. After we ate and got the dishes cleaned, I sat in the recliner in the den and half rested till about two o'clock.
I spent the afternoon bagging the leaves that I had been raking up under the pecan tree. I went ahead and raked up most of the leaves in the back yard and bagged them too. I even got that place under where one of the whistere burshes was next to the metal building. After that I got up on the roof to clean the gutters. It has been so dry recently that there wasn't any standing water in them. That's rare. It's usually a blackish water I have to get my hands in when I've done that before.
After that I put the bags of leaves into the back of the white truck and tied them down. Then I connected the battery and got my stuff and drove over to my house. This time I dumped them at the edge of the turn-a-round place at the top of the drive. Then I swept out the back of the truck, went into my house and cleaned up, and then drove on back over to Mom's house.
So that's how yesterday went.
At work on Wednesday I went to the skytelescope.com website and got a schedule of the space station. It's to be visible here this morning and on into Monday morning. Of course it's been really clear the last few weeks and could have been watching for it. Of course now since I've started to plan on looking for it, it's turned cloudy.
I had just laid back down on the floor to get my second rest yesterday morning when the doorbell rang. It was Mrs. P. and her daughter. Her car had quit and it was left on the Ridge road and they wanted me to help get it on to the side. So I did that too. The engine was running rough and made me think the converter had become clogged. It's still down there by the roadside. Tim is suppose to come over today and pull it on down to their house. I had seen the daughter walking back to their house earlier and she was carring a shopping bag. My first thought was that she had walked to the store and back. But of course I learned otherwise later.
Bye.
Sunday, November 25, 2001
6:00a
It rained Friday night and was mostly cloudy and damp yesterday. I did the usual holiday weekend things, that would be the normal Saturday things plus go to Glassy Mountain and then sit in a fast food place and munch on french fries. Life is boring and I'm not making any progress toward any real worthwhile objectives.
I don't spend much time checking out the news websites, it's gotten to only reading the front page summaries and skim through a couple of articles. The discussion and message boards have calmed down and I can't make myself write what I think for them anymore.
I need to get an email wrote up and sent. So I'll do that now. Bye again. Oh yeah, the GoldenRule page had 11 people look at it yesterday. And the world religious population page is still attracting attention too, the text page is, the data page is not. I would have thought the numbers would have been what people would have been looking for. Bye again, again.
Monday, November 26, 2001
6:10a
Well, on the last morning for these viewing times, I saw the Space Station pass over. It popped into view over Mrs Hunt's house and went over Pickens and into the horizon haze Southeast of the town. Now it'll be a couple of weeks till the next viewing times. Cloudy then too most likely. It's been on my mind for weeks now, none of the news media have made a connection between the crew of the space station and the world trade center attack or the war in Afganistan.
Yesterday afternoon, I redid the battery thing for my CD player. That's using one of the battery sets for a tool as the battery for the player. Then I went to sit next to the road on the East side of Glassy and listened to one of the CDs, the first one I got with the ten classical segments. It was mostly nice, but I never could get into the real mood of the setting and sound. That was because my emotions no longer exist, mostly. Then it was all them ladybugs flying about and landing on me. I must have sat down in their flight path or something.
One more week in November and then five in December and the year will be over. The 'twist and 'tween days should be significant this year, it being the end of the first year of the Twenty-first Century and all. But I doubt if I can make any connections with that either.
Tuesday, November 27, 2001
5:10a
It was a 3 am morning this time.
After eating supper last night I called the neighbors on the other hill to see if it was ok to bring that cake dish back. She had baked a cake for Mom's birthday about 3 weeks ago. So that's what I did, like last year too I think. I walked down the driveway and across the road into their yard through the new trees. There was the thoughts of having cut their grass decades ago when I was a kid. They were sitting on their back porch, yeah, it's that warm for late November. We talked for about 20 or 25 minutes. It's been 20 plus years since David moved to Tennessee. I'm sure I was suppose to know that but my mind just doesn't remember things anymore. She mentioned the Leoid meteors and how they were out in their backyard that early morning. I had heard them too. So anyway, it was one of those rare visits to the neighbor's home.
One of the people I met in Yahoo's religion chat sent an email. He said he had been reading Thomas Pynchon and thought of my writings. Awww gee, thanks man, my scribblings are compariable to a published writer! He asked when I was in the navy too, but I don't know how that connects with the author thing.
So anyway, here it is 2 and 1/2 hours into this wake up and I haven't got much more accomplished than if I had just gotten up.
Thursday, November 29, 2001
5:55a
This link was posted by someone at the cnn's war on terrorism discussion board. It's probably the best that I've happened upon so far. On the left of the page at the bottom of list of other pages is the link to the collection of images. When you get to that page it's the "Thank You" link that contains pictures of how the rest of the world reacted. The whole website is worth exploring.
9-1-1
Saturday, December 1, 2001
6:10a
Twenty-three year ago is was Friday on the first day of December. I was working in the room where motor testing is done now at Singer. Buford Brown came looking for me and said I had a phone call at his desk. It was Joel and he was at the hospital where Dad had been taken. I got up there and was just walking from the parking spaces behind the Feedroom when the ambulence left. It was carrying Dad to the old Greenville hospital. .... So anyway, Dad's been gone for 23 year now.
This week work has been more productive than normal. I've been doing FEM and FEA on some circuit board terminals. Most everything has gone more smoothly than usual too. The previous things I've tried working on had been more fustrating than productive. Such it is with complicated software and things computer related.
I've quit following the cnn message board about the war and terrorism. Most of the posts are about tangent topics. No one's really working on solving this terrorism problem, globally or locally.
I have been thinking about a massively parallel method. It would be like thousands of computers working on a problem in parallel instead it would be made of humans. But ... there's always a but isn't there ... it wouldn't work because they can not keep their focus and there's always those disrupters who make outrageous statements and insults. Then it bascially deterioates into the usual arguing, shouting and verbal fighting over all the standard issues.
I suppose that's exactly what's wrong in reality as well ... it's a few disrupters who cause hate and havack among the multitudes.
Sunday, December 2, 2001
5:45a
After I got the groceries yesterday, another case of not many items on the list but still end up spending $53 anyway, I started by washing Mom's car. I wanted to clean the windows and get it ready to drive her to see the lung doctor on Tuesday. So I did that. Got the hoses out of the ivy covered greenhouse, got her car moved out in front of the carport, and actually used some dishwashing soap this time.
I got that done and saw the leaves piled up in the carport where it was parked. So I swept them out. Then I saw the leaves at the edges of the driveway and got the rake to do that chore. While I was doing that there was the place at the corner of the house where the shurbs and bushes had grown up too much. So I got the pruners and ended up cutting them back down to a stump. I moved the trimmings around to the back where I usually pile them.
I finished the leave raking and remembered Mom had wanted the greenhouse cleaned out. So I started on that chore. It looked more cluttered than it really had that much junky type stuff. There was some old pots and pans, wooden plaques with a design on them, and other keeper things. All the things related to something Dad had used in the greenhouse I got moved to the back. There's still the ladder and platform things for making something to stand on between two ladders. And the warming thing he used for starting seedlings. The rest of the stuff I got in the back of the white truck now. I'll have to make a trip to the recycle place Monday evening.
So anyway one thing kind of lead to another. Never did make it to Easley to look for a carpet for the den. Mom had mentioned wanted that done a while back. I had gone to Welborn's carpet place to start that chore, but after I got a sample and showed it to Mom, she wanted something different and mentioned about not done that now.
Oh yeah, I did a bit of work on the pink bathroom toilet. It wasn't filling up fast enough because all the water was going down that tube into the bowl. So I got it bent so more of the water goes into the tank now. I mentioned getting that fixed and Mom mentions looking under the house to see if there are leaks in the plumbing. Don't know why she would think there would be. Of course the pink bathroom always brings back that episode with the plumbers from years ago. They were suppose to do the cauking around the tub and never did.
There's just no end to it all. The more I get done and feel like I'm halfway accomplishing something, the more I end up feeling like I haven't done enough yet. And there'll always be those reminders of everything in the past that's gone wrong.
4:10p
I did some hedge trimming after lunch. Then I went over to my house and laid on the couch for a little over an hour. Bathed. Then drove up town to walk the two blocks of Main St, or rather that's what I decided as I drove out Gravely Rd to ride somewhere.
One of the trees in front of the Courthouse must have died. It had been cut down, they left a 2 or 3 foot high stump. They also left a bird's nest on top of the stump.
The Picket Fence business is going to close the end of January.
On the front door to Brock's there was a notice about the support rally at the High School. I had remembered seeing that in the Sentinel. So that's where I drove to next.
I didn't go in. I just drove around the parking areas. The enterance off of Jewell St isn't an enterance any more, it's an exit only. But I had already started up it. The old parking area nearest the building is newly paved. It use to be dirt and stone. Since they've cleared off the area on the back enterance the view is really good. You can see Pinnicle, Ceasar's Head and on around to Toxiway Mountains. The Hagood Elmentary, Pickens Middle School and High School are all in plain view of each other now.
So that was my outting for the weekend.
On one of the late morning news-talk shows they talked about another bombing in Israel. I had read about one earlier this morning. It's getting hot there again. I just don't understand how there can be so much hatred against the Israeli. But we Americans are learning about the receiving end of it now.
The thought did occur to me that hamas and arfat must want to move up to the #2 position on the rest of the world's anti-terrorism to do list. It'll probably work out better that way. Get rid of most of the terrorists and their organizations elsewhere in the world. Then do hussein last.
I updated the Terrorism2001 page.
Tuesday, December 4, 2001
6:10a
Last evening about 6:45 I watched the space station pass over. It came out of the southwest and went directly overhead and then disappeared into the Earth's shadow just afer zenith. This morning I checked the skytelescope.com site and saw it was to pass over again about 5:55. I went out to watch for it. Here comes a fast moving light from the right direction, the southwest. So I'm standing there thinking it was the station again. Then I see the blinking lights. It was an airplane with its landing lights on, just like the way the station looks. I gave up and came on back in here.
This morning was the first time in a really long time I didn't get any email, not even any junk email like usual. I did finally use one of them remove from email list yesterday morning. But that was just one site. Maybe those things really do work.
I have to take Mom to see her lung doctor today. I think she's suppose to get another xray this time.
So that's all for this morning.
Oh yeah, the Palestine and Israel and taliban and bin ladin's alquaeda and hamas terrorism and all ... it's all going to develop into full scale world war over the next few weeks and months. It's just not looking like there's any sanity left in humanity. At least not in those few terrorists' leaders minds anyway and they're the ones leading the world to destruction.
Sunday, December 9, 2001
5:40a
Yesterday I spent a couple of hours getting the Christmas things out of the attic and putting up the tree. Also set out 3, 4, 5 or so little things in the den and kitchen and living room. Mom didn't want to bother with it this year, she said no one has been to visit during the holiday seasons in recent years. But I did it anyway, just so I wouldn't have to wonder whether to or not.
The junky junk stuff I got out of the greenhouse last weekend and put in the back of the white truck that's sitting on the narrow bank next to the carport I hauled off to the recycle place. There was a couple of wine bottles and I half thought about keeping them but I didn't. They were from a New Year eve and/or Christmas a few years ago when Daniel was here I think. But I didn't so they're off down at the landfill now. So is an old kitchen chair like the ones around the table now. So is that yellow slip and slide plastic from about 1984 or so.
I did keep some old pots and pans, that cement mixing trawling wooden thing. Sometimes I get to looking at the other old family things around here and wonder what will become of it all.
There's twenty-two days left in this first year of the Twenty-first century. And I suppose I'll just drift on through them like the other 343 days.
On etv last evening they had a German band on instead of the Welk band. The conductor's name was Last. It was one of them live culture events, like the one's I've seldom been to, and none during recent years. It was another reminder of how I've drifting through missing those kinds of events too. And there was those thoughts of how it could have been if I had been a muscian all these years too. Thinking about the places I would have been, being part of the music culture, playing in juke places and concert halls and on street corners.
It's all over now anyway.
Tuesday, December 11, 2001
5:40a
I'm about to decide that there has been moderate change in the world, maybe little change. It has to be proportioned to the magnitude of the event, I think. So that may mean there has been significant change with respect to the norm.
There should be greater anti-terrorism campaigns from the whole of the world. Not just a few nations. There should be less anti-American campaigns and more we are one world campaigns. There should be more of the problem areas around the world looking toward other nations for solutions, not just the States.
But it all is returning to the norm, much too soon, and the momentum will be lost.
I've also decided to start deleting some of the webpages here. There's too many that seldom if ever get looked at. I know I should just leave them and let them pass away when geocities.yahoo or its descendant passes away. But I'm tired of looking at the stats and not seeing any movement with them.
Total page views broke 10,000 a couple of weeks ago. That's just since geocities.yahoo changed to their latest stats format, last year I think. But don't let that be misleading, there's been only a thousand or so individuals to visit this site. And most of them have been from regular visitors. Thanks for your interest.
Well, it's time to get on with it.
Wednesday, December 12, 2001
5:50a
I guess I'm turning vengeful. Over the past few days and couple or three weeks, when there's been some news report of a bombing attack on the alquaeda, injuries and death of its leaders, obl running to save himself, there's that glowing ember of revengeful hate that kept the young warrior warm at night while carving another notch on the stock of his rifle.
"... we are not doing it for the money, we only fight for peace in our country. ...." said the young Afghan warrior. Maybe the elder Afghan's comment from a couple of weeks ago will be true. The young have had their fill of fighting.
Friday, December 14, 2001
5:00a
My mind woke up at 1:55 this morning. I managed to lay on the floor in my bed roll till 3:00 then I decided I might as well get the body up too. So, it's been 2 hours and all I've manage to do is make coffee, drink coffee and smoke cigs, and read the news websites.
I guess I'll have to leave work after lunch and go to my house and get caught back up on sleep.
Yesterday at work I started doing some FEM and FEA with contact elements. That lasted about 90 minutes. Then Earl needed the FEMAP key so that stopped that fill in work. I wasted the rest of the day on the internet. I downloaded a transcript of the Nov 9 obl tape and read it. My thoughts about it and some other terrorism related things are on the Terrorism2001 webpage.
So that's what I will do now. Spend the rest of the morning time writing that stuff. Bye.
Tuesday, December 18, 2001
5:20a
It's a windy early morning hours. Not cold but cool, about 45 degrees. I guess my new early wake up time is going to be 2:00 instead of 3:00. It's happened for a week or two now.
Work is the typical holiday work, just dragging by not getting much done. I do wish the others would tell me what to do sometimes. There's this modal thing that has been in progress for weeks. I finally learned they were waiting for me to tell them where to put the shaker. Like I'm suppose to know. So anyway, I made a guess and said position 14 looks ok. But since that was my decision it'll be the wrong place. When have I ever got anything right?
Saturday and Sunday was spent catching up on sleep. I got enough to get into a dream state Sunday night and last night. Jackie came over to visit with Mom and brought a Christmas decoration. Jason and Rachael are in the Howard house now. She talked about the unusal happenings there. I guess Mr and Mrs Howard's spirits are still lingering around. But that's to be expected, they lived their since the 40s or 30s I guess.
I'll add a few thoughts about the latest happens in the terrorism paranormal world now.
Wednesday, December 19, 2001
5:50a
The 'twixt and 'tween days will be here in seven days, the first of the 21st century. They have always felt like odd days that belong to neither the present nor the future year. This time it will feel even more so. A time that just doesn't belong to reality.
Yesterday I learned that someone else has found the GoldenRule page. The link traced back to a discussion board. He mentioned an addition of his own, well sort-of, it comes from a late Eighties movie, "Be excellent to each other." Seems like I had considered included the common folk sayings, those found on the City Streets and Country Roads. I guess I'll add a few of them to the "How many ways are there to say, 'Be nice to each other' rules."
I've been feeling like writing letters again too, the kind to send to news media and government officials. It's another one of those cases where you think they could not get any lower with their actions and deeds ... but they do. The news media is just one big glorified hyped up rumor mill, the politicians are still just as irresponsible as ever.
On the news last night it was reported that Congress was debating the fate of a fish imported from Vietnam. The world is on the verge of collapse and they waste their resources on stupid meaningless details. It reminded me again of their pre-nine-eleven interest in airlines, airports and air travel security ... on time and lost baggage performance. They've learned nothing from nine-eleven.
That's all for now.
Friday, December 21, 2001
5:30a
The Winter Solstice is one of the older traditions of re-birth, the days stop growing shorter and start growing longer. There's the looking forward toward the future Spring. At least that's the Northern Hemisphere perspective, the opposite is true in the other half of the planet.
So what? It's all been going on like this for milleniums. Peace has taken a major hit this year, at least it feels that way. Other places around the Earth have known no Peace. So is there to be a re-birth of Peace? A re-birth of less hatred among the different peoples would be the same.
The rate of change is almost imperceptable. It's a gradual slowing down followed by a gradual speeding up. It is more noticeable during the Equinox. A speeding by of a major event which closely followed the recent outburst of hatred at its worst.
A re-birth of Peace for whom? The billions of common people who mostly already know Peace among themselves and their neighbors? The billions of common people who mostly stay out of each other's way of life and traditions? For them it is a re-birth in Peace of Mind that is brought forth by Peace among those who know no Peace.
So who is it who is in need of a re-birth of less hatred? A few million who chant for death to this or that other nation or people? The few million who chant for revenge, retaliation over previous revenge and retaliation? Perhaps. Perhaps it is a re-birth of more control over one's emotions that is needed.
Then they are the few thousands who influence the millions who in turn influence the billions. Changes in a few thousands hearts, minds, ideaology and the rest should follow. Is it those few who are in need of re-birth of less hatred that leads to re-birth of more Peace of Mind for the billions?
Billions of deaft ears to a few thousands of mouths preaching hatred can be a Peace of Mind.
Sunday, December 23, 2001
6:25a
Here it is two days into the Winter and approaching the 'twixt and 'tween days. I should have had two more writings done but have not. I need to write about the visit to Aurie and Graham. And a couple of other things, like seeing the space station again. But it's been after 5 when I've gotten up the last couple of mornings. So there's less than the normal time to get the normal morning routines done. Strange how when I need or want to get up early I sleep late. Strange how when I want to sleep late I wake up early. Such is my life. Whatever Jerry wants to do, negate it.
I dreamt about areial map of the navy recruit training place but I don't think it was in the right place. There was something about testing some kind of device too. But anyway, dreams are confusing and it's been too long since I've been able to dream and remember anything.
Monday, December 24, 2001
6:15a
It must have been Wednesday when I went out to Aurie and Graham's. Mom had wanted to give them a boxed fruitcake, something she didn't do last year. It had become the traditional exchange of Christmas gifts and it didn't happen last year.
So I drove out there after work and before supper. Like most plans it was to be a sit down and talk for a short while. Like most plans it didn't happen that way.
Aurie was in their sitting room putting together gifts of baskets and jars of muskiedine jelly. We sat and talked for a few minutes. Graham was out in the block building getting the Christmas decreations. He came in and then I spent most of the rest of the time helping him. He would get the boxes out and put I would put them on the wheelbarrel and roll them around to the front porch where I put them. There must have been 20 or 25 of them. It was just getting cool and breezing that week too.
Their church was going to do caroling that evening too. The pastor had called and said they would be out in about 30 minutes. But I didn't stay that much longer. I just went back inside and visited a few more minutes and then left.
They have the tradition of decorating the tree on Christmas eve. But I think they said they would be doing that this weekend just past.
It was Thursday evening when I took the space station viewing schedule over to the Vickerys. Mrs V was there, I guess Mr V was too but it seems like she's the one who I visit with more then both of them or the daughter that's there too. So we talk for a few minutes about this and that. Her family had already been there for the Christmas visiting and were then gone off to other places. The daughters were in Hawaii for the holidays.
On Friday evening after it had past over, she called here and said how they saw it too and that was exciting. It was suppose to be visible last evening too, for 5 minutes, but the clouds and rain came. Typical Jerry luck.
Yesterday was raining so I didn't go anywhere to do anymore looking for presents. One of the church ladies came over during the afternoon and visited with Mom. Then I went over to my house and laid on the couch for 90 minutes. It was the usual lonely, cool, empty house and empty life kind of feeling there again this holiday season. That was all.
So today I have to figure out how to spend this day. Mom's suppose to do the Christmas dinner cooking today. I'll probably just get out and ride around some. Then it will be Christmas eve sitting watching the usual tv shows.
Ok it's 6:30 and I need to get on with the morning rituals. Bye.
Tuesday, December 25, 2001
5:50a
This has been a 41st year of events ... It was January 1961 when the family moved here. That means the events that first year were the first and the events this year were the 41st ... even though it was 40 year ago when the change happened. Kind-a confusing like when a baby has his first events before it's one year old.
So this is the 41st Christmas at the new house on the ridge. I was 12 then and now 52. How does a 12 year old imagine where, what, why and how he will be in 40 year? The imagined future back then was so different than the present ... or the past 'twist and 'tween.
But then why would I have just now made that year the reference?
It's a religous day ... the reference date would be ... some day during the Winter season some 2,008 to 1,996 years ago.
Oh well ... I've lost the line of thoughts.
Greetings and Blessings ... appropriate for whatever your beliefs might be.
9:40a
Christmas morning is complete. The breakfast of sausage and eggs cooked together and toast made in the oven is complete. The opening of presents in the living room is complete. And that's the usual Christmas morning.
A Journey of a Thousand Hours ... The first sixty seconds of each and every hour for a thousand hours, a personal pause in time for prayerful pleas for Peace among all Peoples. Sixty thousand tics in time taking place time and time again by thousands of thousands of like mind. A thoughtful moment of peace for Peace passed zone to zone around the world as the Earth turns through forty-one days and nights.
Friday, December 28, 2001
6:05a
There are still no great insights into the mysteries of the World, Earth, or Universe forth coming during these 'twist and 'tween days.
The Journey of a Thousand Minutes has failed ... I've not yet developed the habit of pausing once an hour for prayerful thoughts of Peace. It's usually just a couple or three times a day.
I made a trip down to the big store in Easley. When I got out of the truck to walk across the car park I saw a young man who looked familar. It was Brad from the Pizza Inn. He's in his Senior year at Clemson and working at a bank too. We talked for a few minutes then went our seperate ways.
I walked through the store and got two pair of pants that Mom wanted to get me for Christmas. I looked for a dress for her but didn't find anything that looked right or would fit. Of course I still don't have a clue about what to look for about ladies dresses. And there's that constant doubt of ever getting anything right. So I got her some more sheets.
Robert called yesterday afternoon. I got back here while he and Mom were talking. He's doing normal and is planning a camping trip for New Year's day.
Leander was planning to come up yesterday. Susan and Chris were to go to her school to do some work. But Chris didn't want to go, so Leander had to stay with him at home. It always seems to be something that disrupts other people's plans.
My house has gotten cold already and will stay cold for the rest of the season. It's been getting down to 48 or 50 inside and it takes those electric space heaters 2 and 3 hours to get it up to 65 or 70. The fan heaters have been cycling on and off like they're suppose to. But I still don't let them run overnight or during the day when I'm not there. That's except for when I'm in and out during the day though. I may let them today, go over there on the way to work and turn them on.
I've been taking the afternoons off. There's just a few there, the office space is cold, I get cold sitting still for hours at a time, so I just leave at the regular lunch time and don't go back.
Pakistan and India are on the verge of full scale war. The Mideast is in a short lull but is starting back up. There's still talk among the internet connected people about where to continue the battling of terriorism next ... south Arbian, Horn of Africa, the old Persian and Ottoman Empires, Oceania.
At some point hatred of an enemy, real or perceived, just turns to simple plain madness. Place a symbol of their enemy in their midist and they will attack and blow it up. It no longer makes a diff that they destroy themselves, their own families, tribes, comrades and everyone else. Just as long as the symbol of their hatred is destroyed. It's like a grudge, a feud, between two people on board a ship. One will bomb the other's cabin ... without a thought of it being an outside cabin below the water line. The ship sinks, all the passengers drown, themselves included.
But at least the enemy is dead.
Sunday, December 30, 2001
6:15a
The next to the last of the 2001 'twixt and 'tween days. Still little insight to the mysteries of Universe forth coming this year. It's mostly been much the same as the past few years. Thoughts and hope for Peace among the Peoples of Earth. "Be nice to each other," is still beyond the concept and practice of the few who cause so much grief among the many.
Yesterday afternoon, after I got the regular Saturday chores done, I drove down to the new movie theaters on the East side of Easley. I watched the Lord of the Ring, The Fellowship movie. It was a 3 hour movie, less the previews, I didn't expect it to be that long. It was well done and had some great landscape scenes. The Frodo actor was the attraction. I could not decide if he was a teen playing the part or a small young adult or an below average sized person. The casting was better done in general with respect to what was expected for the Halflings, Elves, Drawfs, Wizards and Men. They all were more than appropriate for the expectations.
It was later than I had planned when the movie ended. I left the theater at 4:30 and drove back to my house to get my cloths and put them in the truck. I didn't take time to fold them and just put them on the front seat, still on the hangers. Then I drove on back here to Mom's house and put them in the closet in the front bedroom.
Frances had planned to be here that afternoon but she had called Mom and said it would be about noon time today. The rest of the evening was the typical Saturday evening of watching the Welk show and going on to bed.
So anyway, the mood, sense and feeling of the movie faded away too soon. Last night most of the images from the movie were the violent ones with the forces of darkness. It's takes an effort to bring the pleasant images to my mind's eye.
Monday, December 31, 2001
6:20a
I made this entry just to have one on the last day of the last month of the first year of the Twenty-First Century.